Heroes of the Sharingan
by Scandalist
Summary: When Obito leaves Madara and rushes to save his friends, how many changes it will lead to if, for once in his life, he isn't late? Perhaps this time there will be two Heroes of Konoha. Set during The Third Shinobi War.
1. Chapter 1: A Hectic Reunion

"Heroes of the Sharingan"

Chapter 1: A Hectic Reunion

Obito was standing in front of the large stone that was blocking the way out of the cave he was in, flexing his muscles. His body was covered in a sort of exoskeleton, which, in fact, was one of artificial living beings, imperfect clones of the First Hokage – Zetsu. Its white body encased Obito so tight that it seemed to be a second layer of skin. While it had no face, its tentacle-like appendages that were protruding from creature's shoulders were wrapped around Obito's head, creating a mask with a spiral pattern on his face, the center of the spiral centered on Obito's right eye. From the back of the creature's neck protruded a long tube that connected Zetsu to a colossal Demonic Statue of The Outer Path in the background, and through which he was siphoning chakra. Both Obito and Spiral Zetsu, now a single being, were silently waiting for a moment when they would charge enough chakra to break through the stone.

"So, how is it going?" – asked another Zetsu, who, despite having a fully formed head, had the right half of his face missing.

Neither Obito nor Spiral Zetsu replied: they were too concentrated on collecting chakra from The Demonic Statue and distributing it through their combined limbs.

The tube pumped the chakra one last time.

"…Now!" – whispered Obito, charging at the stone, the Sharingan swirling in his eye.

The large rock, weighing almost 20 tons, shattered and fell apart from Obito's single super-powered punch. "I'm quite good, huh?" – the boy heard Zetsu say as stone debris was flying past him. Obito gazed at his fist trough the spiral eye-hole, marveling at his new combined power of Zetsu's body and Gedo Mazo's chakra, but only for a brief moment. As he was prepared to leap through a newly-formed exit, he heard an elderly voice behind him.

"Leaving already?"

This voice belonged to his savior and creator of Zetsus – Madara Uchiha. Without doubts, the noise of the stone breaking woke him up, and now the century-old Legendary Uchiha was looking at the young Obito. For a moment, their eyes met: Obito's right two-tomoe Sharingan with Madara's three-tomoe left one. Then Obito severed the root that connected him to Gedo Mazo and turned around.

"Thank you for saving me. But I need to go!"

Madara leaned forward a little. "You are being too hasty. It might be too early to thank me".

Spiral Zetsu opened up his tentacles like a fly-trap, revealing Obito with his long wave of black hair. "I don't think I'll come here again. But at least I thanked you. Now I'm going!"

Madara scowled, his wrinkled face wearing a grim mask. "You… will come back. And when that happens, you'll thank me properly".

Obito didn't reply to that, since he had no time to argue with the old man, who was probably crazy anyways. Instead he turned to half-faced Zetsu and shouted, addressing to him: "White One! Where are Rin and Kakashi?"

"I'll lead you there" – he heard one of the white tentacles on his neck say to him. "I am basically one of his clones, so I can communicate telepathically with him and the others. I'll guide you!"

Obito recognized the voice of the Spiral Zetsu, so, after bowing thankfully, he rushed through the hole in the cave's wall and entered the long corridor. On its wall there were different kinds of ninja weapons and clothes, but Obito grabbed only a black cloak – to cover Zetsu's weird body. Tentacles covered his head like a hood, and they both rushed out to the exit.

When Obito went outside the cave and sped towards his friends, Spiral Zetsu gave him a quick briefing about the situation. Turned out, Rin was captured by Kirigakure, but was rescued by Kakashi, and now Kiri shinobi were pursuing them. Their sensei, Minato Namikaze, The Yellow Flash of Konoha, was on a different mission, and neither knew about their grim situation nor could he do something to help them out. Obito scowled after hearing that, but only thought grimly that nothing could be done about that. It only meant that he and Kakashi would have to rely only on their own power and strength. Madara said that, when combined, the true power of their Sharingan would be unlocked, so even if their sensei wasn't there, they would save Rin by themselves. The only thing that really concerned Obito was a fear of being late. "For once in my life, I'll be there in time. Just you wait, Rin!" - he thought.

Ahead of him a large mass of water erupted in an explosion, pinpointing Kiri shinobi's location. Obito raced forward with all the speed he could muster, putting into it every ounce of his strength. As he was getting closer, he suddenly felt some strange, nipping feeling in his left eye – or rather, an eye-socket. As he grasped his left eye, he realized that despite the fact that his eye was missing, he could _see _something – although all of it seemed to be just a white noise. But then, it started taking some forms, at first bleak and incomprehensible, but more and more distinctive with each passing moment. After a few moments Obito realized that he was looking at someone's hand, but from a weird angle – as if it was his own arm. Obito looked down at his right hand, just to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating – but with his right eye he saw only Zetsu's white flesh. The arm in his vision, however, was that of a human, and judging by its size, it was an arm of someone about Obito's age. And, as lightning came, crackling, to life in this boys palm, Obito realized that it was… _Kakashi?_

"_Whatever this vision is, I have to hurry. Hold on, guys! I'm almost…"_ – before Obito could even finish his thought, he shot out of the forest and onto the battlefield.

Immediately his Sharingan started analyzing his surroundings, and the single glance at the battlefield was enough to catch all the details. There were around twenty Kiri nins, all of them fully grown men in Kiri shinobi attire and lifeless masks on their faces. Each of them seemed to hold some sort of weapon, which made close-quarter combat even more difficult. However, that didn't seem to stop Kakashi, who was easily distinguished by his white mane of hair and lightning, crackling in his palm. If not for the Sharingan, Obito probably wouldn't even be able to see him, but with it he just observed everything as if in slow motion.

The boys forehead protector, that served as an improvised eye-patch for his left eye, was lifted, which indicated that Kakashi was going all out. Even though Kakashi was way younger than any of these shinobi, the sheer speed of his movements and attacks, combined with the destructive force of Chidori, allowed him to stand his ground. And Rin…

"_Wait, what is she doing?"_

While Kakashi was charging at one of Kiri nins, who was so slow that his quick death was certain, Rin suddenly jumped from a cliff nearby straight in front of Kakashi, as if to intercept the trajectory of his Chidori and take the blow. Kakashi, who was moving at his top speed, didn't see her yet, and in a moment Rin would be impaled on Kakashi's hand. The earth under Obito's legs exploded as he rushed forward to prevent that from happening, but he already knew that he wouldn't make it in time.

"_If only I had a few seconds to spare… Am I destined to always be late?"_ – he thought desperately as he watched the inevitable.

But at the very last moment Kakashi's right eye twitched and, even though Rin was still in his blind spot, he suddenly looked up at her. Instantly reacting, Kakashi changed the trajectory of his strike so that it wouldn't hit Rin and, as he was still charging ahead towards her, he grabbed her mid-air with his free hand.

Obito couldn't believe his eyes, there was no way Kakashi saw her! But nevertheless, no matter how the boy did that, Obito decided to go with it, and hurried towards his friends. Kakashi, greatly slowed by his collision with Rin, now had no chances of striking the Kiri nin down using the element of surprise, and instead tried to counter his attack. He spun and as he prepared to counter an incoming sword slash with his Chidori, Obito smashed his fist right into Kiri nins abdomen, simultaneously releasing sharp roots into his body and killing him instantly.

Both Kakashi and Rin froze in place, startled by an unexpected ally. They couldn't see his face and they didn't know his motives, so they had to stay on guard, but the fact that he just killed that Kiri nin could mean that they at least shared the same enemy. Yet all of those thoughts vanished without a trace when the stranger turned to them. His right side of the face was covered in horrible scars, and the hair was much longer than they remembered it, not to mention strange white root-like protrusions that covered his head like some sort of a hood, but his face was still recognizable, and his Sharingan and a missing left eye left no doubts. Before them stood a ghost from the past, Obito Uchiha.

Rin went pale and covered her mouth with the palm, her mind refusing to believe this: she saw herself that Obito was buried beneath the rock avalanche, so meeting a person she thought to be dead, even though it was her comrade, was more of a shock than anything else. For a second, she considered the possibility that she did die to Kakashi's strike, and now Obito's soul came for her to take her to the afterlife.

Kakashi had similar thoughts, but he somehow knew that his eyes did not deceive him. With his Sharingan, the one that previously belonged to the boy in front of him, he saw every feature, every curve of every scar, so even though it seemed impossible, Obito, his first friend, was back from the dead. But, just to be sure, to hear his voice, he asked weakly: "Obito? Is that you?"

"It's me, Kakashi. I came here to protect you, Rin!" – he eagerly said, looking at her. Hearing that, he girl almost broke into tears, seemingly accepting the fact that he is really alive, and Obito weakly smiled from this display of emotions. But, as they were in a heat of the battle, there was no time to talk. Later, when they would get back to Konoha, he would explain everything to them, but for now that would have to wait. So, getting serious and turning his attention to the enemies, who were already gathering around, he said: "Now is no time for a warm reunion. Don't give up yet, Rin! Me and Kakashi will protect you!" He turned to Kakashi: "You promised me". Kakashi froze for a second, but then simply nodded and, grabbing a kunai, turned towards the enemy.

Kiri nins already realized that the strange boy was the reinforcements, and, judging by the way he killed one of their comrades, he was a full of surprises. His appearance could complicate their plans. Their orders were to feign a chase in order to ensure that the rescued girl would get back straight to Konoha as fast as possible. But now, if this new guy were to take a fight right there and at that moment, he could jeopardize their whole mission. Things already were going out of control, with white-haired boy almost killing the girl, and the captain couldn't take any additional risks. Thus, the new-comer had to be destroyed as quickly as possible, so that the operation could resume its normal course.

After coming to such a conclusion, the captain of Kiri jonins signaled his orders to his subordinates, who rushed all at once at the trio. The roots on Obito's neck immediately responded to the threat and wrapped around his head, once again forming a spiral-patterned mask. Kakashi and Obito simultaneously stepped in front of Rin, taking their stances and guarding her from the assault. Their team, reborn, was given a second chance, and they weren't going to miss it.

Three shinobi of the Mist were already charging at the duo of boys, swinging their swords at them. At the very last moment before the impact Obito suddenly stepped forward, raising his hands up. Thick roots sprouted from the wide sleeves of his robe, moving fast enough to catch the blades mid-swing. Kiri nins gasped in shock: not only these strange roots were quick and resilient enough to block their attacks, but the boy didn't even move back an inch after colliding with three full-grown men, who were charging at him at full speed! The faintest of the moments later, Kakashi followed up, jumping over Obito with blazing speed and killing all three of them with a single wide slash of his kunai.

Kiri captain cursed under his breath: his mindless approach to this new enemy just cost him the lives of his three subordinates. Of course, he knew that casualties were unavoidable, as he heard the rumors about the masked boy with white hair: despite his young age, Kakashi Hatake was already known as a skilled and dangerous shinobi, a prodigy with some damned kekkei genkai to top it off. But the captain never expected that his reinforcements would be just as powerful. If the accursed village of Konoha had such individuals under its command, it had to be destroyed for the peace of Kirigakure, and so the mission had to be completed no matter at what cost.

Kiri nins already realized the mistake of their comrades, so instead of rushing the boys they started surrounding them, trying to come from the blind spot. Obito and Kakashi noticed this and immediately regrouped, trying to leave no side open to the enemy. It seemed that the enemy wanted Rin alive, so her side of the formation didn't have any enemies, but she prepared to deflect the enemy attack nevertheless, taking out a few senbon.

One of Kiri nins suddenly threw a barrage of kunai to the ground between the two boys, and they both noticed at the last moment that all of those kunai had an explosive seals attached to them. Just before the explosion boys jumped in different directions, only to be immediately surrounded by Mist jonins.

"_They are trying to separate me and Obito to take us on separately. This is bad!"_ – thought Kakashi, moving at his top speed to avoid strikes that were coming at him from all directions. Right now, his quick reflexes and tactical thinking were the only things that allowed him to avoid being cornered.

Obito, on the other hand, relied on his enhanced with Senju cells strength, as well as on Spiral Zetsu's help. As soon as he and Kakashi split up, Obito found himself being attacked from all angles. He did his best to counter, block or evade any incoming strikes, but even with a Sharingan, he was having trouble reacting to so many attacks simultaneously: without any real combat experience, his skills had definitely got a bit rusty during the past year. However, his kekkei genkai as well as Mokuton abilities definitely gave him the edge over the more experienced shinobi, and Zetsu did his best to intercept the attacks with his roots, which now pierced right through the cloak.

His enemies, seeing how surrounded he was, were now desperately trying to strike him down, yet the boy was evading every strike, even the ones that were coming from the blind spot. What the Kiri nins did not realize was that the ripples from their steps on the puddles of water were signaling to Obito were the attack was coming from – a simple glimpse down was all the Sharingan-wielding boy needed to calculate the enemy movements. As he spun wildly to avoid another attack he suddenly leaped at the assaulter and, grabbing him by the neck, smashed him into the ground, crushing his vertebrae and instantly killing him. Still sitting on top of the enemy and looking into the water, Obito saw three Kiri nins descending upon him with their swords held high, ready to pierce him through. Quickly, without even changing his position, the boy clapped hands together into Snake seal, and the additional roots on his shoulders immediately burst into large wooden spikes, each a few meters long, impaling the unfortunate enemies.

A death so cruel and unexpected definitely dwindled Kiri shinobi's morale: raised to hate any kekkei genkai wielder for their superior abilities on the battlefield, they, when faced with one who possessed the legendary Wood Release that was believed to be extinct, suddenly realized, that, perhaps, there was one more reason for the extermination of the clans in Kirigakure: fear. No one would believe that some boy could stand his ground against a group of way more experienced shinobi, yet here they were, staring at the mutilated corpses of their comrades, unable to even close the gap between them and this… _thing._. For now, the smart thing would be to retreat and wait for reinforcements or come up with a better plan. However, things don't always as planned, especially when the factor of emotions come into play.

As Obito looked forward, he saw another Kiri nin, who, obviously absorbed in grief for his fallen comrades, decided to capitalize on the moment of Obito's distraction, and was now recklessly charging the boy with is sword held high. Obito tried to move out of his way, but suddenly realized that the weight of the impaled enemies, that were still hanging on his spikes, would not let him evade the strike. His only chance of survival was blocking it, but he doubted that could execute that perfectly right now. But his enemy was not destined to kill the Uchiha: a moment later his body went limp and he fell to the ground. The only indication of what happened to him was a senbon, sticking out of his neck, and, when Obito at the place where it had come from, he saw Rin with determined look on her face. The girl was holding a few senbon in her hands, looking for openings in enemies' defenses. Since Mist shinobi were too distracted by Obito and Kakashi, they completely forgot about the girl, who now was using the element of surprise to assassinate Kiri nins.

"I told you I am pretty good at fighting, huh?" – Obito heard Zetsu say as spiky roots with dead bodies on top of them disconnected from Obito's body and he stood up.

"Oi, don't take all the credit, guruguru" – Obito said, panting, with a tired smile (although no one could see it under his mask).

"I must admit that you are pretty strong as well. To master advanced Mokuton techniques so soon… Madara was right to choose you" – the artificial being replied, which made Obito smile again.

Although they were still in danger, Obito, for some reason, felt some sort of happiness. Maybe because he finally met his comrades after the year of separation, or because he finally left that gloomy cave, or because he was finally fighting to protect Rin, or maybe even all of those things together. He knew that the bloody battlefield, where the lives of his friends were on the line, was not the place where you can feel happy, but he couldn't help it. He was back, and as he looked down at his hands he realized that there was more to it: he was _strong_. Strong enough to not be a nuisance, strong enough to make a difference.

Strong enough to protect the one he loved.

"Let's end this, guruguru. Then we can all go back home… back to Konoha" – Obito said as a pointy, sharp branch emerged from his sleeve.

The Jonin Captain was outraged: his soldiers just couldn't put a scratch on these two brats, nor could they put enough pressure on them to make them flee. All the confrontations with the Mokuton user resulted in meaningless deaths of his subordinates and greatly demoralized the remaining ones. As to the other Konoha-nin…

Jonin Hatake may have lacked the brute force and bizarre Mokuton abilities of his companion, but he easily compensated for that with his speed. His light frame and lightning reflexes, granted by the Sharingan, allowed him to dodge incoming attacks at the very last moment, basically slipping through the enemy, although the sheer number of them didn't let him capitalize on their momentary confusion, so the white-haired boy resorted to a cat-and-mice tactic. Although he was basically fleeing, he was carefully looking for an opening long enough to strike the assaulter down and get away with it.

After another dodge, Kakashi suddenly leaped at the enemy, outstretching his hand with a kunai in it in a lethal strike, but before his attack connected, he was pierced through the chest by the sword of one of Kiri nins, who finally managed to catch up to Kakashi during his counter-attack. The boy body arched in pain, only to poof out of existence and be replaced by the log. All Mist shinobis frowned in horror, immediately regrouping to leave no side unguarded: what seemed like a serious miscalculation on the boys part appeared to be the cunning ploy to fool them all, since the boy was nowhere to be seen. They were doing their best to keep their calm, but it wasn't easy at all: since they didn't know where he was, the boy now basically had one free attack, and they knew all too well that with boys speed they wouldn't even see it coming. And although only a few seconds passed, the anticipation of the attack made it feel like hours.

On the other side of the battlefield, Obito palmed in pain his left side of the face, and then his right eye widened in disbelief: he had those strange visions again, and now he _saw _where Kakashi was and what he was doing.

The ground next to the group of Kiri nins suddenly exploded as Kakashi burst out of it, simultaneously pulling a ninja wire that, ploughing through the ground, entangled around enemies bodies. It became apparent now that after using The Substitute Technique to escape from the enemy's sight, Kakashi must've dug underground using some Earth Release technique and in just a few seconds planted a trap there. From the angle of the wire it seemed that the boy anchored the other end of it somewhere under the ground, and now it tightly squeezed Mist jonins bodies, effectively trapping them in place. But Kakashi didn't stop there: giving the ninja wire a strong pull to prevent Kiri nins from escaping, he simultaneously ran through the hand seals of his trademark technique and channeled the lightning chakra. The current of electricity wasn't strong enough to kill anyone, but it managed to stun trapped jonins for a few moments – just enough to provide a clear shot for Rin, who with a single swift move sent senbon into the necks of trapped shinobis, effectively killing or paralyzing them.

"Got you" – the trio suddenly heard Jonin Captain say. As they quickly turned to him they saw that he was standing on the open scroll with "Water" kanji on it, finishing the seals of some technique.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" – he roared as the large torrent water erupted from the scroll's paper and, hurling forward, formed a giant water dragon that charged at Rin with its maw open wide.

"_Shit! Was he waiting for an opening to attack Rin? But I thought they needed her alive!" _– Obito thought as he rushed to intercept the strike. With a jump he tried to kick the dragon-shaped torrent, but it changed its trajectory mid-air and the giant maw closed on the boy's body.

"OBITO!" – Rin screamed in horror as she watched the violent waters smash him into the ground with enough force to create a small crater. Once again, she had a familiar picture before her eyes: Obito sacrificed himself to save her life.

Meanwhile, Obito started moving again, sitting up: his whole body hurt like hell, and the entire right shoulder of his cloak was missing, but Zetsu's body saved him from the worst, and Obito knew he could take a little pain if it was to save Rin's life. However, he was alerted by the smokes that, here and there, started to appear on the cloak and even Zetsu's now bare shoulder. And, as the smokes lighted up into squares of flames, he belatedly realized that those were paper bombs.

"_They must've been in that water from the scroll. He tricked me!"_ – the boy thought as he prepared for the impact… and pain.

When bombs went off, Obito was right in the epicenter of the explosion. The fire swallowed and engulfed him, completely destroying his cloak and shattering parts of Zetsu's body into pieces. Obito felt his consciousness fade away, escaping from all the world's pain, but just as he was to drown in the darkness of oblivion, he heard a faint ring of the bell. The ringing was getting more and more distinct and loud, until it suddenly transformed into Rin's voice crying out his name.

Obito opened his eyes. Every tiny bit of his body hurt, on the inside and outside, and his vision was blurred. The explosion almost deafened him, for he heard almost nothing of what was going on around him. Looking down upon his body, he dully noted that he can see his own actual chest, half-normal, half-white. Guruguru was in a really sorry state: He completely opened up, revealing Obito's stump of a right hand and ripped pants. Half of Zetsu's tentacles were missing, and the remaining ones just hung down, inactive. Both the artificial being and the boy were covered in bruises, but it was apparent that guruguru has taken the most impact of explosion.

"I…d-did say I'm good, Obi-nii. R-right?" – the white creature stuttered in exhaustion.

"Kheh… thanks for helping, g-guruguru. Just hang in… there…" – Obito tiredly finished, finally falling on his side.

Kiri Captain watched as the boy finally collapsed to the ground, and then, giving his people some orders through hand signals, vanished in a Shunshin no Jutsu. The moment later all of his men followed, leaving Kakashi and Rin to wonder about the sudden retreat.

As the Captain was jumping from branch to branch, he smirked underneath his mask. Attacking the girl was a huge gamble, but he suspected that either of the boys would try to intercept the attack and take it for her, so it paid off. And now, when they had an injured comrade on their hands, they would have to hurry straight back to Konoha. For now it would do, and when they arrive, the next part of the plan would turn into motion.

Rin and Kakashi hurried to their wounded friend, who, barely conscious, was trying to sit up in the crater. Rin was already running through the seals for a basic healing jutsu, and as soon as her palms lighted up with green light, she started applying chakra to Obito's wounds. Kakashi, meanwhile, stayed on guard, looking for enemies: a retreat so sudden could as well be a cunning ploy to lower their guard. He just couldn't understand, why would the enemy leave them just when they finally managed to take Obito out? But, taking into account what Rin had told him… Could it be that?..

Obito finally felt that his strength was returning, and stuttered tiredly: "thanks a lot, Rin. You're a lifesaver".

Rin couldn't contain her feelings anymore, and burst into happy tears, hugging the boy. "You are our lifesaver, Obito! Where have you been all this time? I thought… I thought th-that you were…" she couldn't finish and just hang on the boys shoulder, weeping. Kakashi was also overwhelmed with emotions, though he was doing his best to hide that fact, so he just said: "Welcome back, Obito".

"Yeah… I'm back. Don't cry, Rin, I'm back for good" – Obito said with a smile, hugging Rin awkwardly with his only trembling hand.

While he was completely absorbed into this reunion, he completely forgot about guruguru, who, despite his sorry state, was still alive, and was attentively listening to the conversation.

'_My-my, so that's how things turned out. I better inform Madara-sama about that now'_ – he thought and, unnoticed, touched the ground with one of his tentacles.

**Back at Madara's hideout**

Madara sat in the darkness of the cave, half-asleep. Next to him, White Zetsu was sticking out of the ground, his eyes closed. Suddenly, with a shiver, his eyes opened, and the android turned to his master, half-smiling as usual.

"The Spiraled One just contacted me: Obito made it in time to save his friends, and will most likely return with them to Konoha. So, it seems that he won't be coming back" – Zetsu said with a casual wave of his hand.

Madara leaned back on his improvised bed: "So that's how it is. Well, it doesn't matter: after all, my initial plan did not involve him".

"Proud as always, Madara-sama? You just don't want to accept that his help wouldn't hurt".

The old man frowned: "Watch your tongue, jozetsu. Even if the boy were to inherit my will, he still could mess up or even alter my plan: a risk that I was ready to take, but not the one to justify any efforts to return him."

"But if you are going to let him go, aren't you afraid that he might tell everyone that you are still alive? That might mess up your plans pretty bad as well" – Zetsu said with a large grin on his face, seemingly not bothered by such outcome at all.

"He is not going to tell anyone anything" Madara stated with confidence. "After all" - with a smirk, Madara made a ram hand-seal " even if is not around anymore, he is still my pawn".

…Back at the battlefield, Obito suddenly screamed in an unbearable pain, which had nothing to do with his wounds: his whole right half of the body felt like it was burning from the inside. Rin leaned back in horror from him, having not even the slightest idea what was going on.

"Obito, what's wrong? Obito!" – Kakashi forgot about his usually cold attitude and grabbed his friend with both hands, as if trying to shake the answer out of him. He couldn't wrap his head around this: just when everything seemed fine, his returned-from-the-grave teammate suddenly was on the verge of death.

Obito's screams, meanwhile, were getting louder and louder, he was grasping his chest, and his nails dug deep into the skin. Pale Rin tried to apply a medical ninjutsu to ease his pain, but she just couldn't keep her hands still on the boys violently shaking body. Then, all of the sudden, black dots started to appear on Obito's white half of the body. They were getting bigger, expanding into spots, until his entire right half of the body turned black.

Obito's mind was in a world of pain, he felt as if something thousands times bigger than him was growing inside of him. And just when the pain reached its peak, he suddenly heard a booming, familiar voice, that echoed in his head hundreds of times: **"When the time comes, you **_**will **_**thank me properly".**

"_This voice… It must be Madara… Madara… Who is it?"_ was all the boy thought.

And then there was only darkness.

A/N

So, this is the first chapter! No matter how lame it might sound, I apologize for the bad grammar: you see, English is not my mother language, though I believe my English is quite fluent. So, if anyone is interested, I am looking for beta-readers, so that the amount of fails in my fanfics might recede.

Also, if anyone is wondering why did I make Kiri nins look like total weakling compared to two boys, they didn't really look that strong in manga either. I mean, forget about MS: they didn't even bother to dodge things like a straight punch or an incoming projectile, so I think described their capacities pretty well, without turning Obito and Kakashi into OP monsters.

Anyway, your follows and favorites, as well as reviews are welcome!

See ya!


	2. Chapter 2: Tough Decisions

Rin and Kakashi were kneeling next to the unconscious Obito, desperately hoping for him to stay alive, while Rin also held her palms over the boy's chest, pumping all the chakra she could muster into her healing technique. They still couldn't understand what the reason for Obito's sufferings was, but it definitely was connected to sudden changes in his appearance: something like turning half-black at such moment couldn't be just a coincidence. Of course, that wasn't the only mystery that surrounded their long lost teammate, but, perhaps he could shed some light on it when he woke up. If he woke up, that is…

Now that he wasn't concealed in his strange wooden armor, they could see him clearly, and the sight wasn't very satisfying. First thing that was worth mentioning was his body: its right side that as they remembered was crushed by rocks was just as white as Obito's strange exoskeleton. Right arm was missing, which wasn't all that strange, but the wound looked weird: it wasn't a usual pink stump of flesh, but rather a think sticky mass of white, which, in all honesty, didn't look human at all. The boys right face was also disfigured, as it was completely covered in numerous scars and wrinkles that made him look like an old man: not too repulsive, but still not pleasant to look at. To top it all off, Obito was covered in bruises and scars from the explosion, though with Rin's help they already were healing. Rin wasn't sure though that she could take all the credit for it: she was sure she didn't apply medical ninjutsu to wounds on Obito's limbs, but they healed just as good as the wounds she took care of.

There were a few details that could give Kakashi some clues as to what Obito has been through. His wreck of the pants was exactly the same pants Obito wore on his last mission, his hair clearly hadn't been cut for a whole year, and his feet were black from dirt. All of that implied that Obito was probably kept in some sort of dungeon or cave without any care. On the other hand, it was obvious that Obito had undergone some advanced surgery, without which he wouldn't have survived. That could explain why Obito's right side that had been crushed was white now, but that didn't add up to the insanitary of conditions Obito had been kept in.

Another thing that Kakashi noticed was a similarity of Obito's body to the exoskeleton that now lay under him. Even that white mass that covered Obito's stump was similar to the one that flowed out of the ruptures on that strange wood-like armor. As Kakashi's eyes fell on roots that were sticking out of it, he was struck by a thought that perhaps it was this bizarre white flesh implanted into Obito that granted him his Mokuton abilities. Although, that raised another question: who could possess such an advanced technology? Kakashi only hoped that his teammate would live to answer his questions.

Obito's state could be worse, though: at the very least he wasn't screaming from pain anymore and his black side gradually turned white again, and that alone relieved the duo greatly. His weak, trembling breathing was, on contrary, a reason for concern: not matter how much effort Rin put into healing him, Obito's condition didn't improve one bit: it seemed as if his problem wasn't coming from his wounds, but from something completely different, something that couldn't be healed.

"Obito… please don't die on me again!" – Rin stressfully said in despair.

"I wouldn't worry about him if I were you. Obi-nii will do ju-u-ust fine!" – she suddenly heard.

When she raised her head and started looking around, she met Kakashi's confused gaze, who also didn't understand where the voice was coming from. She could've sworn that the voice was coming from Obito, so she looked at him questionably, wondering if maybe he also developed a split personality. But as her eyes fell upon white frame of Zetsu, she wondered: could it be that the one who said that was _that _thing?

As a confirmation of her suspicions guruguru crawled from under Obito, gently pushing him aside and, gathering his remaining tentacles and hanging body parts that were still connected to the main body, assumed the more or less humanoid form and stood straight: "Why the long faces? You didn't think I was dead, did you?"

Kakashi and Rin looked at each other in disbelief, both wondering if they were going mad: to tell the truth, none of them had believed until that moment that this headless, ravaged by explosion thing could be alive in the first place. Spiral Zetsu, however, didn't notice any of their confusion or simply decided against it, and continued his speech.

"As I said, don't worry, he'll come to senses soon: it wasn't anything deadly, after all" – guruguru said, trying to put his hanging arm in place.

"_Wasn't anything deadly… so it seems to know what happened to Obito just now. No matter what this thing is, it is definitely connected to Obito's sudden appearance. It might even know where he was for the last year!"_ – Kakashi thought, analyzing the white creature.

"Too bad he can't come back with me" – guruguru continued, immediately confirming Kakashi's suspicions. "It won't be as fun without him around. But, regardless, I gotta go" – and with that, the creature made a huge leap in the direction where Obito originally came from.

"W-Wait! You said that he can't come back with you, but come back where? Where was he all this time? You were his companion, so please tell us!" – Kakashi shouted desperately to Zetsu. His only hope

Guruguru stopped and turned to Kakashi: "Ah, sorry. No can do" - the being replied, shaking its finger and slowly beginning to sink into the ground, and for the first time Kakashi felt some sort of malice in the previously cheerful being's voice, as if it got some sort of pleasure in denying them its knowledge.

"When Obito wakes up" – Zetsu continued, already submerged to his chest "tell him that I'll be looking forward to seeing him again" – and with that, it completely dissolved into the ground, waving its hand at parting.

Rin and Kakashi looked at each other again, completely confused: although that thing refused to tell them anything about Obito, it left them a clue that they might see it again in the future, although such overshadowing was anything but pleasant. The motives of that creature remained unknown, so next they meet they might as well be enemies. However, they were distracted by Obito's moans of awakening: the boy finally came to his senses.

Both Rin and Kakashi looked attentively as their wounded teammate slowly opened his only eye, looking around with a blank look. Then, as he seemingly realized that he was lying on the ground and his teammates were looking at him, his eyebrow shot up and he asked: "Rin? Kakashi? What happened?"

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders in uncertainty: "We are not sure. You went black and then you lost consciousness, remember?"

Obito didn't reply, instead he sat up and began slowly looking around, carefully analyzing his surroundings. But as he looked down upon his body, he suddenly let out a gasp of shock. Patting his right side of the body as if trying to see if it was his own, tracing his fresh scars and bruises with his fingers and lifting his stump of the right hand to get a better look, he finally looked with horror at his friends. The question that came after that caught his teammates off-guard: "What the hell happened to me?"

For a third time Kakashi and Rin exchanged confused glances: what was that all about? First he almost dies screaming while turning half-black, and then when he wakes up he acts as if he doesn't know anything? Their day was getting weirder and weirder. But, although they themselves were dying to find out the answer to his question, they still had to clear up things for him first, no matter how strange it was.

"So, you don't remember?" – Kakashi asked carefully, trying to verify his suspicions. Obito shook his head: "I can't make up my mind! There was a mission to Grass Country, and Rin got captured… and then…" – he didn't finish his sentence, and his gaze wandered off, but it was obvious that he was doing his best to remember something. As memories flown into his head and took their place in his mental library, his facial expression was becoming a mask of confusion and fear. He lifted his arm and observed the movements of his fingers for a few moments, as if trying to remember if they always looked like it. Finally, in almost unheard whisper, he asked: "Did I die?"

Rin felt sorry for Obito: he was obviously very confused and on the edge of losing it, and the worst thing was that they were just as oblivious as him and couldn't clear anything up for him. The least she could was to tell him what she did know and see with her own eyes. "…We don't know. We thought so, but your body was never found… and it was more than a year ago, so we just… accepted it…" – Rin said those last words very quietly, burning with embarrassment.

Obito understood how hard it was for a girl to speak about that: after all, those who survive always feel guilty for the deaths of their fallen comrades. So he decided to move on to the next part: "Then how did I suddenly get here? And why am in such a state?" – he lifted his stump to imply what exactly he was talking about.

Kakashi decided to take on the initiative: "We don't know. You appeared like that out of nowhere when we were fighting off a group of Kiri nins." – meanwhile Rin cupped Obito's shoulder in her palms and activated her healing technique. "We've never seen anything like that: you were using some weird abilities and you had that strange wooden armor that turned out to be alive…"

Obito's eye widened in a realization: "You mean guruguru?"

"So you do remember something! Who was that? Or rather, what was that?" – Kakashi exclaimed in surprise.

Obito frowned: "I begin to remember some details of the fight… but I still can't remember anything that was before it! Although I don't remember anything about him, but… I just _know _him from somewhere. And he definitely is kind, even though he also has this weird fetish about learning how people poo" – after hearing that, Rin and Kakashi sweat-dropped, but at least they now knew for sure that the guy in front of them was Obito: only he could say something like that with a straight face.

"By the way, where is he now?" – Obito asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "He left while you were unconscious, seemed like he was in a hurry. I don't think he'll return… anytime soon" – Kakashi finished.

"Oh, that's too bad. I'm sure he would tell me how I got like that." – Obito hung his head, but then looked back at his friends: "However, there's something I'd like to ask you, guys. Rin" – he began, turning to her and wearing a serious expression on his face. "Why did you try to kill yourself?"

Rin bit her lip and looked away, and Obito was suddenly struck with a horrible feeling that there was something that he didn't know yet. "You were under the enemy's genjutsu, right?" – he asked with a weak smile, deep inside hoping for it to be the only truth. "Hey, Rin, that's nothing to be-"

"Obito" – Rin suddenly interrupted the boy in a very serious tone. Obito went silent, waiting for Rin to continue, but she just lifted her top, revealing her abdomen. For a second Obito admired smooth line of her tender figure, but the moment later he realized that he is looking at some sort of ink seal, carved into the girls belly. Horror-struck, Obito couldn't even imagine what the purpose of that seal was, so he just stared at it, waiting for an explanation.

Rin went on: "There was a reason for my kidnapping. Kirigakure wants to cripple the Konoha, so they caught me and sealed their bijuu - Three-Tailed Turtle – inside me, and they are planning to release it right in the middle of our village. Your saving me was just a part of their plan, Kakashi" – she turned to the white-haired boy – "That's why I wanted you to kill me. So that I wouldn't be used as a tool for destruction of my homeland".

Kakashi's uncovered eye narrowed: "You seem to know a lot about their plans. How do you know that they sealed a bijuu inside you?"

The blood flowed out of Rin's, and then out her comrades faces when she said four words: "It whispers to me". Then the girl dropped her head on her chest, and her hand hung down lifelessly. "I can hear it all the time. It whispers to me, it scratches at the door of my mind, and I just can't stop hearing it. It _wants _to get free, Kakashi. It hates humans, and it wants to create a bloody rampage, no matter where" – Rin lifted her head and looked Kakashi in the eye – "that's why I'd rather die than set it free upon my comrades" – she said in a suddenly firm voice.

Both Obito and Kakashi were startled by the amount of willpower that Rin demonstrated: dealing with a blood-thirsty monster inside of you and sacrificing yourself for the sake of the others demanded a lot of courage: without a doubt, was braver than most of shinobi in Konoha. For a moment, she reminded Kakashi of his own father, but right now, he had no pleasure to be distracted by memories, since there were more pressing matters.

The boy rubbed his chin, thinking aloud: "The fact that you can hear it probably means that the seal they used was very weak, so that they could release bijuu without problems when the time comes. That's why they feigned the chase – since this seal is not very durable, there's probably a certain time limit to it."

Rin's eyes widened with realization: "So they left after wounding Obito because they knew that we would have to hurry to bring him back to Konoha! That's so… dirty".

"No matter what they thought, they failed" – Obito said, trying to get up with his one hand. "But if Kakashi's right and there's a time limit on this seal, then we have to deliver you to Konoha as fast as possible".

"Haven't you heard me? I can't come back to Konoha with you, that's what they want from us!" – Rin exclaimed.

"Actually, you can" – said Kakashi. Both Rin and Obito stared at him wide-eyed: neither of them expected their obedient comrade to make such a statement. "We can't take you straight to Konoha" – Kakashi went on – "but if we could reach it's outskirts in time, I could then use my ninkens to call the reinforcements or Sealing Corps, so that they would suppress bijuu's chakra just like they suppress chakra of their prisoners".

Rin shook her head: "But you will be risking your life all this time! I can't agree to that".

"It's alright, Rin" – Kakashi said, putting his hand on her shoulder – "In shinobi world, those who disobey orders are scum. However, those who abandon their comrades are even worse than scum. That's what I believe" – he stated, looking at Obito, who almost burst into tears after hearing his comrade recite his own statement.

Rin was also touched by this display of emotions, and, perhaps because she recognized her comrades desire to save her as her own desire to protect them, but she said: "Alright. But we have to hurry then, I don't think that Kiri nins have completely abandoned us. Can you move, Obito?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine" – Obito lied. In truth, his whole body still ached and his movements felt stiffened, but since there was no other way to save Rin he decided not to bother his friends. And, although he still was very confused about his amnesia and his new appearance, the importance of the task at hand made forget about that for a time being. When they reach Konoha, he will do his best to investigate his past, but before that he had to save Rin.

Just as they prepared to go, Rin called out: "Kakashi, Obito! Before we go, I need you to promise me one thing" – she looked them dead in the eye, and one could cut steel with determination in her voice when she said: "If I start to show signs of giving in to the beast… promise me that you'll kill me immediately".

Obito wanted to object, but before he said anything he heard Kakashi beside him say: "We promise". And as Uchiha turned to his white-haired friend, gazing at him, young jonin just turned away and flickered towards the woods.

The trio wasn't moving at their top pace, since all of them were exhausted: Rin still didn't recover from being chased by Kiri shinobis, and Kakashi was suffering from chakra depletion on top of that: using Chidori and Sharingan had put its toll on the boy. Obito wasn't feeling that good either: his numerous wounds from explosion still bothered him every time he jumped on another branch, although the pain was reducing with time. And, although they were on their limit, they were putting every last ounce of their endurance into speed. Getting to Konoha in time to save Rin was one thing, but also worried that if they were too slow, Kiri nins would show up to hasten their movements.

While crossing the border of Fire Country they came across an outpost of Konoha nins, and Kakashi had an idea to send an eagle messenger to the village with a request of reinforcements to meet them halfway. However, his plan didn't come a fruition: everyone at the outpost was dead, or rather killed, and it didn't take much thought – cut throats, poses that the dead forever froze in – to deduce who was behind this silent killing of Konoha nins. Apparently, Kiri Captain hadn't given up on them yet and was trying to remove everything that could distract the trio from their initial course. Obito was outraged and Rin was simply dismayed, but since there was nothing they could do, so, for the lack of any better variants, they just resumed their course.

The sun had long been set when they finally reached familiar grounds. Konoha was just a few miles away, and Kakashi decided that that would be enough. Taking out his kunai and making a small cut on his thumb, he slammed his palm into the ground and, with a puff of smoke, a small, pug-like dog in a standard ninken outfit appeared. Looking around and sniffing the air, it then raised its paw to greet his summoner.

"Yo, Kakashi. Been to a fight lately?" – Pakkun asked, probably feeling a smell of sweat and blood in the air around the boy.

"No time to chat, Pakkun. I've got an important mission for you" – Kakashi said with all the seriousness he could muster. Immediately the dog straightened out as much as a dog possibly could and it's ears shot up.

"I need you to contact the ANBU or the Sealing Corps and request them to come here ASAP. Tell them that we have a Jinchuriki here to seal".

Pakkun tilted his head, looking at Obito: "Are you talking about him?"

Kakashi hesitated for a slight moment before he answered: "no".

"Oh" – Pakkun sighed, realizing all the gravity of the situation and throwing a compassionate look at Rin. – "I'll bring them as soon as I can". And with that the dog flickered away at the speed that could make a chunin green from envy.

Obito trailed the rapidly departing dog, and then said: "So, now what?"

"And now we wait" – Kakashi answered, looking at Rin with …: "How do you feel, Rin?"

"I'm still hanging in here" – she weakly smiled. "Kakashi, do you think they can suppress the beast?"

Kakashi nodded: "Konoha has very powerful sealing masters, and for a reason. As far as I know, our village houses a Jinchuriki of the most powerful bijuu there is".

"Really? I never knew" – Obito interrupted him, scratching his head. "Do you know who is that person?"

"No" – Kakashi replied, somewhat irritated by either Obito's interruption or ignorance. They hadn't seen each other for a year, but Kakashi already remembered how much Obito could sometimes get on his nerves. "The identity of Jinchuriki is usually not disclosed, so I haven't had a chance to meet him. But just in case the beast goes wild…" – Kakashi suddenly stopped talking and listened attentively to something. _"Pakkun couldn't come so soon" _– was all Kakashi thought before he saw a glint of steel in the darkness. His reflexes did not let him down: he pulled kunai out just in time to parry an incoming shuriken. But who could?..

"You shouldn't have stopped when you are so close to your home, brats!" – they heard a familiar voice shout. The very same voice that casted a technique to injure Obito. The moment later they saw a Kiri Captain descend from the top of the tree, sending another volley of shuriken at the trio.

Kakashi groaned as he dodged it: neither of them had any strength to fight this man: Kakashi suffered from chakra depletion so much that he couldn't even cast another ninjutsu, and Obito was severely wounded, not to mention the fact that he had only one arm now. Rin just wasn't cut out for fighting stronger opponents. But, on the other hand, they didn't have to defeat him, they just had to hold on until Pakkun brought reinforcements.

Meanwhile, Kiri nin rushed at Obito, swinging his sword at the boy. Obito backflipped to dodge the strike, stiffing his teeth: he wasn't in a good state, and all of his wounds protested his every move. The Captain probably knew that, and attacked Obito first for that very reason: if he could take him out quickly, pressuring the remaining two teens would be much easier. The man didn't have his cool he had had before, and that meant either that he was fed up with this chase or the time limit on Rin's seal was drawing to its end.

Obito kept trying to get away from Kiri nin, but he wasn't giving up on killing the boy, trying to close the gap between them with each swing of his sword. Sometimes the blade missed him just by a hair. Where were his teammates at such a moment?..

Kakashi decided that exhausted or not, he had to take the Jonin Captain on, unless he really wanted his teammate to stay dead. Of course, if he wanted his exhausted body to be a match for Kiri nin he would probably have to use Sharingan, even though doing so would raise chakra depletion to really dangerous levels. But the moment he took the first step towards them, he suddenly felt the nipping feeling in his right eye – the one that he had already felt earlier that day, in fact, just before he had that weird vision that allowed him to notice Rin at the last moment… only now he saw the very same Kiri nin that was attacking Obito – and from the angle of view Kakashi realized that he was looking through Obito's eye.

"_So that's how I saw Rin back then! I saw her from Obito's point of view! I can't be sure, but it may be because I wield his Sharingan that we share our sight when we are close to each other… and if that works for me…"_

At that moment Mist shinobi threw a kunai at Obito, not even stopping his barrage of swipes. Obito tilted his head, dodging the projectile, but the moment it passed his head it poofed into a clone of the Captain, that was already raising his sword to cut unsuspecting Obito down.

"_It must work for him, too!"_- Kakashi thought, in an instant raising his forehead protector and looking at Obito with his Sharingan. At that very moment Obito's eye widened in surprise and, not even looking back, the boy dodged a strike that he supposedly couldn't see. The clone tried to follow up but instead used his sword to block a senbon from Rin that was aiming for a real shinobi. The girl wasn't missing any action, once again hiding from enemy's attention to find the weak spots in their defense from the shadows, but now she really didn't look that good: her skin was pale, her teeth were grit, and there were beads of sweat running down her forehead: it seemed that she was at her limit.

Meanwhile, Obito and Kakashi exchanged glances: both boys understood at that moment the connection that they were sharing, and, as Obito was still looking at his teammate, the white noise in his left eye-socket unraveled, once again showing the boy the image of himself. _"So this is the power of our Sharingan… My gift to Kakashi turned out to be the most useful one"_ – Obito thought with a small smile on his face, glad to be alive.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by another shuriken from Kiri nin. Obito dodged it by the tiniest margin – if not for Sharingan he wouldn't even notice it in time to dodge – but immediately Obito realized that something is wrong, as his kekkei genkai registered something. Only after the first shuriken flew past his head, grazing his mane of hair, did the boy see the second one, that was flying straight into his face. _"Shadow Shuriken Technique"_ – Obito realized in shock – _"the other shuriken was hidden in the shadow of the first one, so I didn't see it! I don't think I can dodge it… Damn, to be killed by such an easy technique!"_

But before he was hit by a projectile, it was intercepted by another shuriken, thrown by Kakashi: since he looked at attack from a different angle, he saw the second shuriken from the beginning and thus, knowing that Obito would dodge the first one, decided to intercept it straight away. His Sharingan spun one time, copying the technique, and one second later Obito's eye widened as he suddenly realized that he now knew one technique more. _"Did I copy it… or was it Kakashi? Nevermind that, I'm sure that he copied that as well, and with this technique we could…"_ – he clenched his fist with determination. He jumped next to Kakashi who pulled out a smoke bomb out of his pouch and, after boys exchanged nods, Kakashi set the bomb off, hiding them both in the smoke.

Kiri Captain sent his clone to keep an eye on Rin, while he himself turned to the cloud of smoke, ready to take on whatever was coming at him. A second later Obito burst out of it, charging at the Mist shinobi with fist ready to blow a strike. Kiri Captain smirked at the boy's bravery and stupidity: even if this was just a trick to draw his attention, one quick sword slash was all it took to end the boy's life. He raised his sword, preparing for a strike: the boy wouldn't even see it coming.

But before he even came got close enough to land a punch, the boy suddenly raised his stump and roots shot out of it, wrapping themselves around Kiri nins raised arms: since the shinobi was in a stance to cut down an opponent, he didn't have time to react and roots caught him off guard, anchoring him in place. _"This boy can use his kekkei genkai without hand seals or even a healed arm_?" – Kiri nin thought in horror. But surprises didn't end there: a moment later Kakashi suddenly appeared out of Obito's shadow, with kunai in his hand ready to strike his opponent down.

"_They copied my Shadow Shuriken Technique and adapted it for themselves! Curse these Konoha brats…" _– was all Kiri Captain thought before a hard, sharp steel pierced his armor and punctured his lung. Blood gushed out of his wound and mouth as he fell, powerless, to the ground, releasing his hold on his sword.

Obito looked down at the fallen enemy, feeling no remorse whatsoever, before going in Rin's direction. The guy got what he deserved for kidnapping Rin and trying to destroy Konoha just because it approved of shinobis that had kekkei genkai. And what village didn't? Bloodline Limits were blessings, especially for small villages where clan members were just foreigners from other countries. His train of thought was interrupted by Kakashi, who was walking beside him: "How do you think, why weren't his people with him?"

That question actually alerted Obito, and he started looking around, searching for other enemies that may had been hiding in the trees: "You think that there are more Kiri nins?"

Kakashi shook his head: "No, I doubt that. If his subordinates were here, that would have already attacked us by now. I think he actually ordered his comrades to leave him and get back to Kiri, since coming so close to enemy village is definitely suicidal. He didn't want them to risk their lives" – Kakashi explained – "Even a scum like him cares about his teammates, so he voluntarily decided to finish his mission".

"Of course I did" – they suddenly heard a hoarse voice behind them say. "Enough of my comrades died today to put the plague of kekkei genkai to an end. And their deaths were not in vain!"

Shocked friends turned around to see Kiri Captain standing, even though he was heavily bleeding. He didn't have his mask on, and they could see blood streaming down his chin. When he let ho of his wound, another gush of blood erupted from it, but he didn't pay any attention to it, since he was too busy making hand seals. Kakashi threw his last kunai at him, but was too late: the last seal was made, and Mist shinobi didn't even bother to dodge a projectile, smirking one last time before kunai ended his life – this time for sure, penetrating his skull.

"No! Please, no!" – both boys suddenly heard Rin exclaim in a voice, full of pain. With the seal undone, nothing restricted bijuu's chakra anymore, and started flowing out her body, covering as a second layer of skin. The process seemed to be accelerating, since the layer of chakra was getting thicker, surrounding her entire body as a sort of eerie aura. Bubbles of unknown origin were surging through this red chakra, leaving burns on contact with Rin's skin. Overcome with pain from inside and outside, Rin screamed at the top her lungs, unable to cope with it. Slowly, one after another, three tails made of the same red chakra whirled behind her.

"Obito! D-don't let me…" – Rin stuttered in agony, falling to her knees, before this state overcame her consciousness and her last words became a growl, full of inhuman fury. And, when she raised her head to look at boys again, they saw in her eyes nothing but pure rage. It wasn't a Rin they had known anymore: instead there was only a shell, possessed by a Three-Tailed Demon.

With a roar, Rin suddenly charged at boys, moving on her fours with unexpected grace. Both Obito and Kakashi immediately jumped away from her, afraid of both of she had become and she would do to them in this state: not every day you face your possessed friend. Rin swiped her claws, and, even though there was some distance between them, they both felt a gush of wind that was caused by that attack. The beast-Rin stood there for a moment, obviously choosing her prey, before rushing towards Obito. The boy leaped to a tree nearby and, despite the fact that it was a hundred years old oak, felt how it shook from one strike. Rin didn't stop there and ran upwards, using her speed and claws rather than chakra to climb upwards. When Obito dodged that attack as well, she suddenly turned and leaped towards Kakashi, trying to take him by surprise: her behavior was that of a hunting animal rather than of gentle kunoichi they knew her to be.

Kakashi jumped upwards at the very last moment, observing in horror how his teammate smashed her fist into the ground with such force that a crater appeared, and young Jonin had to cover his eyes from debris and dust that was raised by explosion.

Rin didn't follow up, instead collapsing to the ground, once again shaking from pain. Chakra around her body started changing, turning black with red outline. Her mouth transformed into a mane, full of teeth, and her eyes became white holes they glowed with both rage and some dark, sentient mind. Her initial transformation began.

Kakashi used this moment to jump to now Kiri Captain and pulled his kunai out of the corpse's head. He crouched low, taking the stance similar to that of Rin, ready to take on the beast.

"Kakashi, what are you doing?" – Obito shouted, startled by his teammates actions.

"We need to stop her before her transformation is over, otherwise Konoha is going to be destroyed!" – Kakashi replied, watching Rin's agony.

"And how are you going to do that?" – Obito wondered.

There was no reply, and Obito was struck by realization of what Kakashi had in mind. Outraged, he in one leap closed the distance to his teammate and grabbed his hand: "Are you insane, Kakashi?"

Kakashi didn't look at his comrade when he replied: "There's no way we can revert the transformation at this point, and the Sealing Corps may take even longer. That thing is not Rin anymore, and Rin would want us to do anything to stop it. Don't you see that?"

Obito froze, and before his eyes flew the memories of other Rin, not the one that was trying to rip their heads off, but the one who was brave, caring and who put the well-being of others above everything else. _"That's why I wanted you to kill me. So that I wouldn't be used as a tool for destruction of my homeland"… "Obito! D-don't let me…"_ Those were the words that she said herself, the ones that reflected her will to protect the others. Would she really accept death by the hand of one of her friends? Maybe… just maybe… that was the reason he was here in the first place?

"So, Obito…" – Kakashi asked, still clutching the blade – "what is your answer?"

Obito closed his eyes and grit his teeth in remorse, and then… punched Kakashi in the face. Not expecting that, the boy fell down on his back, looking with wide eyes at his friend.

"You fool…" – Obito whispered. "Of course I understand Rin's feelings, and I know that she would want us to kill her if that prevented the destruction of Konoha" – Obito opened his eye and looked at Kakashi – "but it's because I recognize her feelings and the will to protect her comrades that I absolutely cannot give up on saving her!" – he exclaimed with determination. "Even if there's a faintest hope that the beast can still be sealed, I won't give up. And if needed, I'll rip that beast out of her with my own hands!"

The boy turned to Rin, willing to take the beast on, and at that moment, when he saw Rin, his fighting spirit somewhat faded.

Rin had changed drastically: her feminine figure could still be recognized beneath dark-red chakra, but that's where similarities ended. Her hands now were a sharp set of claws, and her head was covered in black horns that created an improvised crown. The lower jaw grew in size, and sharp fangs were pointed upwards. The right eye was squinted, looking like a line of light, and behind her swirled three tails, now covered in spikes. In less than a minute, Rin became a true monster.

Obito gulped, but didn't back down. No matter how terrifying this thing was, underneath its hideous appearance was Rin that he knew, the one that he had risked his life for. He knew why he was there: to save Rin from the clutches of monster in front of him.

Obito took on a stance, ready to take on his opponent. The beast didn't make him wait: with a roar, it launched itself forward towards him, outstretching its arm to rip him apart. At the very last moment, Obito raised his arm and, with a shout, released a large number of roots from it that entangled the charging beast. Even after the impact, the beast kept pressing on, and Obito's legs ploughed through the ground as he was pushed backwards with inhuman force, stopping only 15 meters later.

Obito was putting all of his chakra into strengthening and thickening roots, but, as new ones grew, they were immediately broken by the monster's assault. His muscles were burning, and beads of sweat ran down his face, but if he were to give in to the weakness even for a moment, Rin would tear him and Kakashi apart. His roots branches were getting thicker and thicker, encasing Rin in a sort of wooden cage. Obito heard the wood crackle, just like his bones probably did, but he kept on restraining the beast the best he could. For a moment he looked her in the face and froze in shock: the black chakra was receding, unraveling Rin's face, and for moment she looked him in the eye from beneath the cloak of chakra. Her eyes were calm, and there was some serenity in them. For a moment, Obito loosened his mental grip on Mokuton technique, and that was all the beast needed to take control of Rin's body again and rip through the complex web of roots, leaping at the boy. Realizing his mistake and too exhausted to even move, the boy silently watched as Rin, with angry scowl on her once gentle face, outstretched her arm for a fatal blow.

He was going to be killed by the one he loved.

"That's as far as you go!" – he suddenly heard a woman's voice shout, and Rin was suddenly swept away by something very fast… and red.

Shooting through the forest, Rin's limp form flew for a few dozen meters before she finally regrouped and, with a roar, stopped, leaving traces of her claws in the dirt. Looking at his savior, Obito for a moment thought that he was hallucinating: the woman in front of him had the same red aura as Rin. Although her chakra wasn't the only thing that was the color of blood: down to her waist streamed a long wave of crimson hair that, due to the violent flow of chakra, was now swirling around her figure. From her Konoha attire Obito realized that she was the reinforcements, and that red chakra indicated that she, too, was a _…Jinchuriki?_

"Sealing Squad! Prepare the fuinjutsu!" – she commanded and, out of nowhere, four ANBU appeared around her, all four already weaving seals.

With a howl of fury, Rin got down on her fours and, after gathering her strength for a moment, launched herself at the woman. The charge was so powerful that Rin left a burning trace behind herself, scorching grass and melting rocks. The woman clenched her fist, and her own chakra swirled around her with a doubled force: she was obviously powering up to take the beast head on. Just before Rin's punch connected, the red-headed kunoichi answered with a punch of her own – and it was so fast that Obito couldn't follow it even with his Sharingan. The shockwave from the impact almost toppled him off, and completely negated Rin's assault. But surprises didn't end there: even before Rin's body connected to the ground – flying through the clearing for the second time – the woman slammed both of her palms into the ground, and golden chakra chains flew out of her body to wrap themselves around the raging monster.

"She's neutralized! Sealing Squad, go!" – she shouted, and four ANBU, that were patiently waiting for a command, rushed towards Rin, who suddenly was completely powerless and couldn't even move. Three of them surrounded Rin, forming some sort of sealing pattern on the ground, while the fourth one bravely went straight to her and palmed her abdomen – right where the seal was. The beast howled, and this time it was a howl of not only rage, but also of despair. And after that, just as suddenly as it appeared, the red chakra has vanished, and Rin collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"The mission is complete!" – red-headed kunoichi exclaimed cheerfully, and red chakra around her receded as well. She turned to Obito with a smile on her face, and her expression changed to surprise: "boy, you look like a mess. Did she do that to you?" She looked at Obito for a few more seconds, as if trying to remember something, and then her beautiful eyes widened from shock: "hey, you are Minato's…"

Obito didn't hear the end of the sentence. He fell to the ground, too exhausted to stay conscious and glad that Rin was finally safe.

**Three days later:**

Kakashi stood in front of The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was just finishing reading Kakashi's report on the mission. Out of his entire team, only Kakashi was in good-enough shape to move around, although he still suffered from after-effects of chakra exhaustion. A week of rest should make him as good as new.

Obito and Rin, on the other hand, were still in a hospital, both barely conscious, especially Rin, whose body was adapting to the bijuu. Kakashi had already visited them a few times, but every time he had come they were sleeping, so he did not disturb them.

Rin's life wasn't in danger anymore: although Minato-sensei, the best sealing master in the village, was still on a mission, other Sealing specialists did a good job creating a new seal, so that Rin's body and mind were safe from bijuu's influence while she was hosting it.

Obito's state was slightly better, especially since his wounds regenerated at an extreme speed, but Kakashi was told that his friend would be kept under surveillance for some time while tests were made – not every day a shinobi that was believed to be KIA appeared out of nowhere, wielding a kekkei genkai that was believed to be extinct.

And now, since Kakashi was the only one who, basically, was in a state good enough to write reports, he was waiting for Hokage to say his word.

"That's quite intriguing" – the old man finally said – "so you say that he does remember where he was for the last year?"

Kakashi shook his head: "No. I believe that seizure that he had has something to do with it. Someone doesn't want us to know about them, Hokage-sama".

"Indeed. But the real question is, who could possess such a technology? And why would he give it to Obito?"

"I have no clues, Hokage –sama"

Old man smoked on his pipe, than asked: "say, Kakashi, do you know what importance does Mokuton have for our village?"

Kakashi was silent, so Hokage went on: "Just like Sharingan, it has a power to control and suppress bijuus. Your friend has already shown that ability when he reversed Rin's transformation: without that, sealing her would be impossible. Initially, higher-ups wanted to break up your team, so that Uchiha boy could be thoroughly analyzed and the Jinchuriki was trained how to tame the beast. However, taking into account his unique abilities, I believe that it is for the best to leave you as a team, so that you could keep an eye on the bijuu at all times. As for the boy…"

The door suddenly opened and somebody, whom Kakashi couldn't see without turning his back on Hokage, walked in. Hokage beamed with joy, talking to the newcomer:

"Ah, here you are! I was just about to mention you. You were showing some interest in Obito-kun, is that right, Orochimaru?"

"Oh, yes, sensei" – Snake Sannin replied – "the boy is very interesting indeed".

_A/N_

Oh, my, that was a tough one!

I'm sorry that it took me such a long time to update, it's just that I have a really tight schedule right now and I have to finish my diploma in two weeks, so it was really hard to find some spare time to write. But I was very glad to see all the feedback you provided me with – each review made me think about updating this fanfic as soon as possible, so you guys made it real.

Also – and it's very important to me – I'm still looking for a **Beta-reader** who could check my works – please be reminded that I'm not a native speaker. PM me if you are interested.

Now, question time: some of you wondered if Rin really committed suicide, and I say "Yes", she did, for the reasons I stated in this chapter. Also, "Yes", Obito will obtain MS, but it won't be any time soon – I don't to make him overpowered, I want him to become gradually stronger.

Also, go check out my page - I've written a few ideas for fanfictions there that I may or may not write in the future - I'd like to hear your honest opinion on them.

Now, there's a tradition I wanna create: I'll give a shout-out to any fanfics that I believe are quite good. And this chapters shout-out goes **to "Rise of the Uchiha"** by **AlphaEph19**, as it features the only believable version of Sharingan Naruto, the best OCs that don't look off and, later on, the most badass version of Hinata you'll ever see. Also, he's updating weekly now.

With this, I'm signing off until next chapter, so review, follow and favorite!

See ya!


	3. Chapter 3: A Snake, a Fox and An Old Man

In a large, gloomy cave – far too large to be of natural origin - stood a stone throne. The throne, despite its formidable size, was completely dwarfed by the colossal statue behind it, but still, it was big enough to make the old man, who was sitting on it, look tiny.

Back in his days the man was unstoppable, the being of power that rivaled that of gods, but right now he was only an old, battered shell of his former self – the shell that has been decaying for far too long. Despite that, he spent most of his life in seclusion with one very clear goal: to create a perfect world for humanity. And right now he was about to pass his work on to a worthy successor. Or, well, to the only "person" available, since he didn't have much of a choice.

Before him stood a deformed humanoid creature that was completely white and completely naked, but, thankfully, without any sexual characteristics. It almost looked like an average human, save for the wooden spikes that encased its torso like a fly-trap, and the fact that its right arm as well as the side of his face were missing. When the old man gestured it to come closer with his trembling hand, it obeyed, coming closer with a big grin on its face.

"My time is coming. You'll have to carry on my plan, Zetsu" – the man said in a hoarse voice.

The white being did not object, instead gazing at its master attentively: "I'll do exactly as you wish, Madara-sama".

The man coughed, leaning forward: "Come closer. There's something that needs to be done".

Zetsu did as Madara told him, and found that his master reached out to his shoulder and put his palm on it. With interest he observed as the black goo suddenly started spreading from it, spreading across his white skin until it covered the entire right half of his body, his melted face included. The black mass leveled out all of his bark-like skin, hiding all the uneven spots and disproportional spikes, and covering Zetsu's missing part of the head, creating a face that, however strange that was, was lacking any facial features other than the round yellow eye without irises. Finally, out of the shoulder that Madara was now leaning on, depowered by his technique, grew an arm that gently caught the falling old man and assisted him to get back on the throne.

"This… this is your partner, Zetsu" – Madara rasped, breathing heavily. "A manifestation of my will. From this moment, you… no, both of you… will work together to accomplish my plan".

Zetsu's eye widened slightly in surprise when the black mass that now covered his entire right half of the body spoke in a dark and grim, yet respectful tone: **"We will do our best, Madara-sama".**

The old man smiled, then brought his arm to the root that connected him to the Demonic Statue and, with his last strength, severed it in a single, strong move. Powerless, he fell back on the throne, but this time Zetsu did not move to help him: without strong chakra of Demonic Statue the man was as good as dead anyway.

"Now, go…" - Zetsu heard the old man whisper. "Find Nagato… Show him the way… And lead humanity to salvation. You are its last hope" – those were the last words of Madara Uchiha, who, after a century-long life full of hatred, struggle and hope, finally passed away.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Village hidden in the Leaves, was doing exactly what every top ninja that was experienced and qualified enough to get the main post in the ninja village would do – working with papers. It sometimes annoyed him that he went through all of those hardships and countless battles under the tutelage of the Second Hokage just so that one evening the man decided that Hiruzen was brave and strong enough to handle the paperwork. Of course, being a Hokage was much more than that, it was also about caring about his subordinates, knowing their strengths and weaknesses, making a lot of important decisions and, above all – being a leader for his people. And that was exactly where his experience came in, as no shinobi would trust his life to or serve under a person he didn't recognize as more strong. And shinobis did trust their lives to Hokage every day, because only someone who went through countless missions and been through all the situations one could imagine could correctly decide if the person was ready for their mission or not.

So, of course, when there was a S-class mission, Hokage could send only those the most powerful shinobis he had under his command, because it was not only about lives of those he would choose to complete it, but the prestige of the entire shinobi village, as it was a chance to prove its might. S-rank missions were extremely rare, and normally a Kage had to choose team composition wisely, putting a lot of thought in his decision. However, on the last S-class mission Hiruzen sent only one person, completely confident that that person would suffice. And he had no doubts about that, since prodigies like Minato Namikaze appeared only once in a generation.

Although it's been a few weeks since he had sent the man on the mission, the old Hokage was completely sure that Minato was doing fine: S-rank missions could have countless complications and take a lot of time, and if Minato failed it or died during its course the news about death of The Legendary Yellow Flash would reach Konoha faster than the super-fast shinobi would.

The entire morning Hokage had a strange, yet familiar feeling. Maybe it was some sensor ability that The Professor of Konoha had developed over the years unbeknownst to him, but he couldn't stop thinking that Minato was about to come. Today. Of course, had Minato decided that his mission is complete he would appear in Hokage's office a few seconds later – distance wasn't an issue for Flying Thunder God Technique that had raised Minato to the rank of legends of shinobi world, and there was a familiar triple-pronged kunai hanging in reception room. However, old man Sarutobi doubted that Minato would go from his two-week mission straight to his boss to give him a full report on the mission – Minato was disciplined, but he was also very aware that he was expected somewhere else first – at his house particularly. Kushina would never forgive him if he reported about his well-being to Hokage first, and Hiruzen was fine with that – sometimes personal life was no less difficult and important than S-rank missions, and there was probably nothing to report other than "the mission is complete".

Minato and Kushina were in close relations with each other, but, due to the secretive style of shinobi lives and their statuses in shinobi world, they made it a secret that they heavily guarded from everyone, save the most trusted people – like Hokage himself and one of his students, Jiraya, who long time ago trained Minato and was the first one to notice humble boy's incredible potential. If someone were to learn their secret, their peaceful romance would cease to exist – Minato had a lot of enemies who would jump at an opportunity to hurt him, not to mention the fact that it would attract unwanted attention to the Jinchuriki.

Relations with Kushina had made Minato stronger in any way possible – not just because she was from Uzumaki clan who were extremely proficient with fuinjutsu, but also because protecting the village became a lot more personal to him. Minato had found his King, and that King came even before Hokage.

And since it was Kushina who would see Minato first, she would probably tell him the news concerning his students – especially the one that was long lost. Hiruzen wondered how Minato would react to both the appearance of Obito and drastic changes in his team overall – Minato now had to deal with a completely new kekkei genkai and a Jinchuriki on his team. Or he would have to, if not for decisions that were made during his absence.

Perhaps, one day, Minato would replace the old man and would have to take all those important decisions himself…

There was a light breeze behind the door of the office, and a second later it was followed by a knock.

"Enter" – Hokage commanded, already knowing who it was.

The door opened, and, just like Hokage thought, there stood Minato in person. The old man immediately noticed that his clothes were still dirty, but blue eyes were troubled – Minato definitely heard the news at home and immediately rushed to the office to learn more, probably leaving a very disappointed redhead behind. He bowed respectfully, and then said: "Minato Namikaze have arrived to report, Hokage-sama".

Hokage sighed, since he knew that Minato wanted more than anything else to skip the report, but business was business: they had to deal with the mission first. "Report".

"The mission is complete, targets are neutralized and there are no casualties" – Minato said in one breath. Hokage raised his brow, and then waived his hand: "As you were. Although I expect to see a written report – and a detailed one." The man leaned back in the chair: "From your look I can tell that you already know the news, Minato?"

"Is everything Kushina said is true? Obito is alive?" – Minato asked with anticipation.

"Hmmm… No matter how strange that is, it's true. Your student was found by none other than his teammates, Rin and Kakashi. So, congratulations, Minato" – Hiruzen responded with a small smile.

"So that's how it is… Up until now I couldn't stop thinking that I have let him down… That's still my responsibility, but…" – and the man wiped the tears that started forming in the corners of his eyes – "I'm just glad that he's alive".

Hokage smiled compassionately: "Now, now, Minato. The boy is back and isn't going anywhere".

"Where is he? I want to see him, is he alright?" – Minato eagerly asked.

Hokage shook his head: "I afraid that wouldn't be good for now. His condition is pretty rough now, and he needs time to heal. Although, I wouldn't say that it would take long: his healing factor is… miraculous".

"And what exactly his condition is?" – Minato wondered.

"Just as it was stated in Kakashi's mission report a year ago, he seems to have been crushed by rocks back then. However, despite that he is heavily wounded, his condition is not that of a cripple. It was when he was delivered to the village, as his right arm was missing, but now…" – Hokage didn't finish his sentence and smoked his pipe.

"It's healing?" – Minato asked, wide-eyed. Although something like that seemed impossible, Minato, despite his young age, have seen a lot of things, so he was sure: nothing was impossible in shinobi world.

"I would say that it's restoring itself to its original form" – Hokage replied. "As you may have heard from Kushina" – Hokage smiled – "and I'm pretty sure that she was your informer, the boy possesses the power of the First Hokage for some reason, his unique healing abilities included." Hokage sighed: "His powers were almost mythical, a mystery that our scientists failed to solve. Yet it seems that someone outside of the village did a better job."

"Why would they do that for one of our shinobis?" – Minato wondered.

Hokage shook his head again: "That is a question that everybody is wondering about. There was a possibility that they planned on making Obito a spy, but it was dismissed: Interrogation Squad has already tinkered with Obito's memories while he was sleeping, and a large chunk of them seemed to be missing, so he himself doesn't know what happened to him."

"Will he remain under the surveillance?" – Minato asked, obviously worried.

"I believe it won't be necessary. Interrogation Squad didn't find him that suspicious, and anyway, his teammate Kakashi is qualified enough to keep an eye on him, so in case his behavior is suspicious, Kakashi shall immediately report that".

A small smile found its way on Minato's face: "Teammate…"

Hokage answered with a smile of his own: "Yes, that is right. Your team is reborn, Minato! Initially the Council wanted to split them and take Rin under their wing as a new Jinchuriki of our village…"

"Rin is a new jinchuriki! I completely forgot about that! Is her seal alright?" – Minato interrupted, slapping his forehead as a gesture of disappointment about his short memory.

"Yes. Her seal is intact, and the beast is under a control now – no need to worry about that" – Hokage replied with a slight dissatisfaction on his face – elite shinobi or not, Minato sometimes forgot about the basics of politeness.

"Yes… Me and Kushina will take care of her" – Minato said, relating to his close relation with another Jinchuriki.

"I'm sure of that. So, as I was saying, there's no need to split your team. Kakashi is quite proficient with his Sharingan, and Obito possesses Mokuton on top of that, so I believe that they are perfect teammates for a Jinchuriki. With time, their abilities to control her chakra should develop, and that should allow her to use her abilities to a full extent" – Hokage answered, seemingly amused by such a situation.

Minato grinned: "That's gonna be quite a team!"

"Ha-ha, indeed, indeed" – Hokage laughed. "One of the youngest jonins in the history that possesses a Sharingan, an Uchiha with another legendary kekkei genkai and a Jinchuriki of the three-Tailed Turtle. They are almost like a new generation of Legendary Sannins!"

"Heh, I doubt that I'm even qualified to train them!" – Minato joked.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. Orochimaru already volunteered to train the Uchiha boy!" – Hokage replied, still smiling.

The change in Minato's appearance was instantaneous. He stopped smiling, and his eyes narrowed. That reaction didn't escape the Hokage, so, sighing, he said: "Minato, I know that you don't trust Orochimaru. But you have to, for now. He is a loyal shinobi and he is the only one qualified enough to understand how Mokuton work and how to help Obito use them to their fullest extent. No one in the village knows as much about ninjutsu as he does, probably not even me – and I've studied every technique in this village. Also, he could provide us with the key as to how did Obito obtain it. You know that our village tried to recreate the abilities of the first Hokage, but all of those attempts failed. If someone outside of the village managed to do that, we have to stay sharp".

Throughout Hokage's speech Minato was gloomy and wore a disappointed scowl on his face. He understood that Hokage was perfectly right, but still, he couldn't just hand over his student to a person who associated himself with snakes. Ever since he first saw Orochimaru, he couldn't stop thinking that the man was up to something, and he always wondered how the majority of the village failed to see that. Seeing how his subordinate still refused to accept his decision, Hokage used his trump card:

"Kagami-san, the head of the Uchiha clan, is already noted about my decision, and he didn't object in the slightest. In fact, he was honored that one of The Three Ninjas showed a desire to train his clansman" – Hokage straightened in his chair, and there was iron in his voice when he said: "Obito will be trained by Orochimaru, Minato. My decision is final, and you are not to doubt it".

Minato realized that, arguing with the old man, he had come a little bit too far. Hiruzen Sarutobi was a good-hearted man, but wasn't titled the Hokage for nothing: Minato had yet to see him in action, but he was sure that on the battlefield the old man was terrifying, and angering him with insubordination and doubting one of his prized students was a bad idea. So, bowing respectfully, he said: "I apologize, Hokage-sama. I would never dare to doubt your decision. I just got too caught up in my thoughts".

Hokage nodded: "I'll think of it as a post-mission fatigue. Any ideas concerning his two other teammates?"

Minato scratched the back of his head – one of his habits that was by now easily recognized by a majority of village's shinobis: "I'm not sure about that. Kakashi always trains alone, and he is a jonin, after all, so me training him is not appropriate. I could talk to Kushina though – I bet she'll be excited to help out a fellow girl-jinchuriki".

Hokage nodded again: "That seems like a nice idea. I expect her and Obito to begin their training in a week. So, if you don't have any other questions… you are dismissed."

Minato bowed: "Thank you, Hokage-sama" – and in a moment, he was gone, probably already on the other side of the village. Hokage let out a small smile: his sensei's Hiraishin no Jutsu was really something.

* * *

**A week later**

Obito hurried to the training ground 44, which, as he remembered from his chunin exam was a creepy place – although it definitely wasn't creepier than his new sensei. He received news via a formal letter that arrived to him while he was still in the hospital, and to tell that he was excited about them would be the biggest lie since the foundation of Konoha. Everyone in the village knew about Sannins, so he immediately recognized the name of the shinobi that was appointed to train him. And, although he had no doubts that Orochimaru was strong and had a lot to learn from, he'd rather be trained in the field of medical jutsu by the Legendary Sucker and Drunkard Tsunade than by the guy who, apparently, was all about snakes. Obito had always hated those animals with passion, and now he probably despised them even more.

After a few weeks of rehabilitation and a nice trim Obito looked nothing like the white ruin of a man he was when he was delivered to the village. His haircut was exactly like the one he had a year ago, prior to his disappearance, and although the hair-maker joked that his black mane made him look like some of his Uchiha ancestors, Obito preferred his good old spiky mope.

His unique regenerative abilities and all the doctors in Konoha didn't help him with his wrinkles and scars that covered the right side of his face, so they would remain until the rest of his life. One of the doctors had suggested that, since he was a shinobi, he could use a Henge to mask them, but Obito refused, stating that that was "not manly". Scars didn't bother him that much, as they showed that, despite his young age, he was a battle hardened shinobi already. He did cover his left empty eye-socket as people were seemingly disturbed when they looked at it. It also made him look like Kakashi a little, which annoyed him, but Obito decided that he could live with that.

His regeneration, however, did help him with his missing right arm. At first doctors – and he himself – couldn't believe their eyes when during one of the check-ups on patients it appeared that his stump had somewhat grown, but in a few days it became clear that his right arm was indeed growing back with ridiculous speed. In a few weeks Obito, who had previously thought that he wouldn't be able to use ninjutsu anymore, was already doing push-ups using only his newly grown limb – although doctors strongly recommended against it, as they weren't sure how strong his new arm was. The fact that it was white as snow – just like the entire right half of his body – didn't bother the boy, as he was already used to his own unnatural whiteness and it would be concealed by the clothes most of the time anyway.

His clothes also changed from the last year: he gave up wearing orange colors as he believed that the whiteness of his arm was a spot bright enough. He now wore a more practical set of clothes: on his top he wore a fishnet shirt that was so usual among most of shinobi. On top of it he wore green vest – a symbol that he was a Konoha chunin. Finally, on top of it he wore a black wide-sleeved high-collared shirt with Uchiha fan on the back of it – although Obito unlocked his Sharingan more than a year ago, it was his first time being in Konoha as a wielder of his clan's kekkei genkai, so he took a lot of pride in that. He didn't close it, since he wanted to have an access to the numerous pockets in his chunin vest – although he was still yet to fill them. Wide sleeves were simply practical, since his Mokuton abilities would rip to shreds any other clothes the moment he decided to burst his spiky roots from arms.

His black pants and sandals were the most usual pants and sandals that shinobi wore. Nothing out of ordinary.

When Obito was getting closer to the training ground 44 he started to remember why he considered this place creepy: even though he didn't arrive yet, he could already see high trees that probably completely obscured the sunlight. It probably fits Orochimaru just fine, Obito guessed. His suspicions proved to be right when he got closer and took a look at the high fence that surrounded the forest: its height and barbed wire on top of it made it look like it was made not to prevent shinobis from venturing inside of the forest, but rather to not let the inhabitants of the forest out. And who would want to go there, anyway? A few dozen meters was as far as Obito could see, the rest was obscured by the shadows from trees.

Although, as a shinobi, he could technically enter the forest from any point he wanted, simply by jumping over the fence, the point that he was told to go was the entrance – the large gates. Although Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen, Obito suspected that he was somewhere nearby. And he was right – while he was looking around, gaping at the sheer size of these trees, the snake Sannin stepped out of the shadow of one of the branches.

"You are late, Obito-kun" – Orochimaru mused as the sun lit up his pale face and purple marks over the eyes. Obito found that there was something creepy in the fact that Sannin was still behind the net fence – as if Obito was a kid who came to a reservation to look at the predator in his natural habitat, and that excursion was about to go horribly wrong. He didn't feel easier when Orochimaru reached out and grabbed the net of the fence: "So, Obito-kun, do you dare to enter the Forest of Death?" Obito didn't know if Orochimaru suspected that it was him who was actually creeping Obito out, but something told him that the snake sage could care less or even desire such an effect.

Despite all that, curiosity took best of Obito, so he wondered: "Sensei, why did you choose this place out of all the other training grounds?"

Orochimaru smirked, which somehow made him look even more menacing and intimidating: "That is a good question, Obito-kun. However, I was hoping that an Uchiha would manage to figure it out by himself".

Obito inwardly flinched: he'd had enough of jokes about his intellect with Kakashi, and he wasn't particularly happy that his new master was already making them as well. Nevertheless, he didn't show it and didn't reply, so Orochimaru continued: "This place is a perfect training ground for experienced shinobi, as it provides all kinds of dangers. That's why the Chunin exam is taken here, as it takes some skills to survive here. Also, the forest's environment is perfect to test and improve your… new-gained abilities."

Now that made sense to Obito: since his ability was utilizing wood, there was no better place for him to train than in a forest. Orochimaru continued his explanation: "The First Hokage, who was the original user of Mokuton, used it to change the landscape of the battlefield corresponding to his needs, which essentially made him an ultimate all-terrain one man army. Your abilities do not seem to be at the level where you could pull something like that off, but I believe you should start your training here nevertheless."

"Uh, if that's what you suggest…" – Obito said, his gaze trailing off. He didn't want to admit that Orochimaru was making quite a good point, but the man wasn't one of The Three Ninja for no reason.

"Very well" – Orochimaru smiled – "Now, if we have agreed on this matter, then I believe it's time you enter the Training Ground, Obito-kun".

With a gulp, Obito jumped over the fence and landed next to the Sannin. Contrary to what Obito thought, Orochimaru didn't bite him – why would he, Obito shamefacedly thought, that would be silly – and, without a word, they ventured towards the woods.

"Uh, sensei, but how exactly are we gonna train?" – Obito wondered, trying not to flinch after calling Orochimaru "sensei".

"Why, you are going to be sparring, of course." – Orochimaru mused.

"I'm gonna be sparring with you?" – Obito gulped. The perspective of being beaten to a pulp in the woods by a person who was looking more like a snake than a human didn't seem to be quite appealing to Obito.

"Hm-hm, you seem to be quite confident in your strength, Obito-kun" – Orochimaru laughed, failing to notice or simply ignoring Obito's facial expression: the boy looked anything but confident. "But no, you won't spar with me… yet. I'd like to test your strength first, and The Forest of Death is a perfect place to find a sparring partner".

After saying that, Orochimaru suddenly leaped to a large bush – or rather a man-made installation of branches, as Obito realized – and pushed its leaves to a side. Obito stopped breathing when he realized that he was suddenly looking at the largest tiger he had ever seen – or even imagined. Its head was easily as big as the boy himself, and Obito didn't have any doubts that that tiger could swallow him whole. The fact that the beast was tied up didn't help the boy to regain his composure, as the beast was conscious and trying hard to free itself.

"This is your first opponent, Obito-kun. One of the many" – Orochimaru smiled and with a swift movement of kunai cut the rope that was restraining the beast. Tiger immediately sprung to its legs and with a ferocious roar charged at Obito, completely ignoring Orochimaru – even animals recognized the might of Sannin, so tiger didn't bother attacking the man who had already restrained him once. As the boy leaped away from the charging monster, having no idea whatsoever as to how to defeat it, Orochimaru jumped to one of the tree branches so that he could have a better view on Obito's struggle.

"We are going to spend quite some time here, Obito-kun" – Orochimaru began his lecture, watching the boy running away from his opponent. "This is only the first one of your adversaries in this forest, so better get used to them. Normally, I wouldn't risk my student's life in training" – Orochimaru smirked, confident that Obito couldn't see him – "However, I believe that this is the only way to test your limits and to see in action what a combination of Sharingan and Mokuton can do. You managed to take on the whole platoon of Kiri nins and a Jinchuriki on top of that, after all".

Obito was barely listening as to what his sensei was talking about, as he was too concentrated on the beast in front of him. Test his limits? Well, that may be true, but so far Obito almost died twice already, and it hasn't been even thirty seconds since the fight – if one could call it a fight – had started.

"I see that you have your doubts" – Orochimaru continued, as if mocking Obito – "but don't worry, you are way more powerful than you think you are. And once your initial training ends and you learn all the secrets of your new body, we'll start studying some of Shodai Hokage's techniques. Luckily, he – or rather, his thoughtful brother – thought about leaving some instructions as to how to use Mokuton to its fullest extent".

Obito was simply outraged: what kind of teacher would just leave his student to fight a giant tiger before even teaching them anything? But, perhaps, Obito did have the strength to defeat it: after fighting it for a few minutes and analyzing its every movement with his Sharingan, Obito now had quite a more-or-less clear picture of beast's capacities, strength – Obito almost fainted when the tiger snapped a branch as thick as Obito in two – and speed. And if his task was to use forest's environment to his advantage…

Landing on the ground, Obito waited for the tiger to get a clear view of him and to start charging at him again. The beast didn't make him wait long and leaped at the boy with its maw open and ready to devour the Uchiha. At the very last moment, Obito jumped upwards – although it clearly wasn't enough to escape the beast's jaws. Looking straight into the beast's red throat, Obito shot out one thick yet flexible root – but he didn't aim it at the beast, instead grabbing a tree branch above him and pulling himself up. He heard a terrifying snap of jaws just a few inches beneath him and, after pulling himself all the way up to the branch, he turned in the air and, resting his feet on the branch that saved him, pushed off with all the strength he could muster, launching himself back at the beast's spine.

With a terrifying force and speed that could rival that of a cannonball, Obito kicked tiger's back. As the beast wasn't ready for a counter-attack, it staggered on its feet. Obito didn't let it recover: from both of his wide sleeves he shot out a thick root, similar to the one he used before – only this time roots ploughed into the ground from both sides of the tiger, anchoring themselves deep in the soil, and, with a roar, Obito pushed himself and the beast into the ground, effectively trapping it in place.

The boy didn't stop: one of his roots already made it to the roots of the tree that he launched himself from just a moment ago. Both roots – the boy's and the tree's – intertwined, and, with a bit of concentration, Obito made tree's roots move. He had already figured out that after creating roots and trees, controlling them was a piece of cake, but it was his first time using this ability in a fight. The tree's roots moved and shook, until finally the tree itself lost its support and started falling straight towards Obito and the tiger.

Obito jumped away in time. The tiger, which was still restrained by the roots, didn't.

For a moment, Obito felt pity for the beat: it didn't do anything to deserve that. Sure, it attacked him, but only because Orochimaru caught it and brought it to Obito. He was distracted from his thoughts by Orochimaru who came closer to the subdued beast: "Excellent job, Obito-kun. It was a very creative approach. However, why didn't you kill it when it leaped at you? It was a perfect chance".

Obito looked at the tiger that was weakly trying to free itself: "He didn't do anything wrong to me or my friends. It was just doing the only thing it knew to do."

"Ah, so you fight only to defend someone, Obito-kun? Judging from Kakashi's report, you didn't have any problems killing all those Kiri nins" – Orochimaru smirked. "However, are you really going to leave this tiger like that? To die from hunger, or worse – to be eaten alive by other creatures that lurk here? And on the battlefield, are you going to let enemy shinobi to bleed to death instead of ending his sufferings in one swift strike? How do you think, how many shinobis did you leave to die slowly when you were protecting Rin? Were you sure that you killed them all?"

Obito didn't reply, so Orochimaru went on: "We are shinobi, Obito. We were born to kill others, that's our job and responsibility, and sometimes, when showing mercy to your opponent, you leave them to a fate way more cruel than you can imagine. Not to mention the fact that a spared enemy is a danger to your friends. Isn't it your motivation to protect them?"

"It is" – Obito whispered, thinking over Orochimaru's speech.

"That's right" – Orochimaru said in almost gentle voice. "So, is order to leave the battlefield with a clear consciousness, in order to ensure that your comrades are safe, you have to kill efficiently. One strike – one death." – Orochimaru finished, handing over his kunai to Obito.

Obito turned to a tiger, which was looking at Obito as if begging him for something. Obito couldn't decide whether it was a desire to leave or a desire to end all the suffering, but he knew that didn't have to think about it anymore. With one fast strike to the head, the tiger was no more.

"Excellent" – Orochimaru almost purred. "I like that expression in your eyes, Obito. Now, come. I have a lot to teach you".

* * *

Rin was looking at the red-haired woman and couldn't decide where she remembered her from. She had that funny tingling at the back of her mind that she had seen her face in a dream, although she wasn't sure that that dream ended well. And that was strange because the woman in front of her was very cheerful and happy. Probably because she finally met one of her kind, Rin guessed, as Minato sensei introduced her as a Jinchuriki… and her new teacher.

For the last few weeks Rin wasn't very happy about that whole situation with a Tailed Beast sealed inside of her. With a new seal it stopped bothering her and whispering how it would everyone she held dear if it was to break free, but still, the very thought that deep inside of her was hidden an evil sentient being of unimaginable power was making her shudder, and she already missed the days when she didn't have the responsibility to contain such a powerful weapon.

With appearance of Minato-sensei everything started to look better though: he cheered her up, saying that Konoha had a long successful record of containing bijuus, and that she had nothing to worry about. And even more than that, he promised to introduce her to his friend, who was also a Jinchuriki and who help Rin – both to control the beast and to deal with the situation she was in.

When Minato brought Rin to his red-headed friend – whom he introduced as Kushina – the older kunoichi was so eager and happy to get to know someone like herself that she couldn't contain her emotions, and grinned throughout the whole introduction – which seemed to please Minato, who was genuinely happy for Kushina. Rin could only imagine how tough it should have been for Kushina to be a Jinchuriki since childhood, so she tried to be communicative and responsive while Kushina led her to the training ground after they parted with Minato.

"So, here we are, Rin!" – Kushina said cheerfully when they finally arrived. "This is my personal training ground where I train my skills as a Jinchuriki. Everyone else is prohibited to enter these grounds by Hokage himself, but, since you are a Jinchuriki, you are allowed to come here" – Kushina said confidentially, as if sharing a big secret.

Rin looked around: what was a training ground of Jinchuriki of the mightiest Tailed Beast was a completely usual training ground, save for a few craters in the ground here and there. But, on the other hand, she thought, it didn't have to be anything special, just a restricted area so that Jinchuriki's identity remained a secret. "It's very nice to let me in here" – she said.

"You are welcome, dattebane! It's gonna be our special girls place… You know, for _special _girls" – Kushina winked.

Rin didn't find a response to that and just smiled awkwardly, and Kushina realized that her reaction to the girl might have been too eager. So she tried to regain her composure and said: "Sorry, I'm just too excited to meet a fellow Jinchuriki-girl. Plus, it's always lonely training in here. The only person to keep me company here is Minato, but he is often on some dangerous missions" – she finished in somewhat sad voice.

"Ah! Minato-sensei trained here with you?" – Rin asked excitedly.

"Ye-yeah, we do it here often… But w-we just train, don't get the wrong idea, dattebane!" – Kushina responded quickly while her face was rapidly getting red.

Rin realized that she just heard something that she shouldn't have, so she tried to change the subject: "Sooo what are we going to do here?"

"Oh, we are going to start your training as a Jinchuriki! You know, to learn how to control your beast's chakra a-and all that stuff" – Kushina responded, glad that her new student didn't start asking any questions about her relationship with Minato.

"Won't it take me over during the process?" – Rin asked with alarm in her voice. She had read Kakashi's report – who hadn't? – and she wasn't pleased to learn the details of her rampage in the forest. Nothing of what was described – even her unimaginable power – seemed to be appealing to her.

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'll teach you how to do it properly, without any drawbacks. Of course, you might slip if you go too deep, but the overall benefits of being a Jinchuriki on the battlefield make it worth it" – Kushina calmed her down.

"And what are those benefits?" – Rin wondered.

"You know, super strength, speed, regeneration, stronger techniques, stuff like that!" – Kushina responded cheerfully: it seemed that she had already experienced those power-ups, and she was more than happy about that.

Rin, however, seemed to be a little bit disappointed: "But… I wouldn't need all those things. I'm a medic-ninja, and my role in the team is to support, not to fight."

"And you don't have any offensive techniques that might benefit from your new chakra?" – Kushina asked.

Rin shook her head. The girl was a bit let down: she had hoped that her being a jinchuriki would help out her teammates, but it appeared that to do that she would have to abandon her status as a medic-nin, and Rin wasn't ready for that. It seemed that the Tailed Beast inside of her would remain a burden rather than a benefit.

"Oh, don't be so sad. I have few ideas how to accustom it to your style" – Kushina calmed her down.

"You do?" – Rin asked?

"Of course! I've been a Jinchuriki for my whole life, so naturally, I've met all kinds of situations where the Beast's chakra may be applied." – Kushina responded.

Rin was listening attentively, so Kushina continued: "You see, its chakra is so strong compared to that of a human that when it emerges from the inside, it's almost like a spike in your power. I'm pretty sure that even a medic can find some use for the burst in their power… and I have a few more techniques in mind".

"Really? What are those?" – Rin asked eagerly.

"Oh, wait and you'll see. But first you'll have to contact your beast and persuade it to occasionally share some of its power with you. And trust me, those guys are not that generous" – Kushina said.

Rin wasn't happy about the perspective of communicating with the monster that had once possessed her body: its whisper still echoed in her mind, and scenes described in Kakashi's report haunted her dreams. But if it was for the good of her comrades, she would find the courage necessary to face the beast that lurked deep inside her sub-consciousness.

"But there's one more thing, Rin" – Kushina interrupted her thoughts – "I know that, according to the rules established by Tsunade-sama, a medic-nin must be the last one of his squad to enter the fight, but what if your teammates fall in battle and you'll be left the last one of your platoon? How are you going to support and protect them then? Will you just stand there and watch them being killed?"

"No" – Rin answered without even a moment of hesitation – "I'll do everything I can to protect them… or to at least to avenge them".

"Good" – Kushina nodded seriously – way more seriously than how she was behaving throughout their entire conversation. "Then you'll have to cross that line between the medic-nin and shinobi, and instead of healing and restoring you'll be killing and destroying. And you'll learn from me how a Jinchuriki can do just that."

* * *

There was only one person on the training ground 31: a lone white-haired masked boy. As if his mask didn't hide his face enough, he also had a forehead protector adapted as an improvised eye-patch that covered his left eye. However, despite his young age, few in Konoha didn't know him and the secret behind his eye-patch: he was Kakashi Hatake, son of the Legendary White Fang, and was considered to be his reincarnation by the foreign nins due to his already impressive skills. And, on top of that, he possessed one of the strongest kekkei genkai in existence that usually belonged only to Uchiha clan – Sharingan. However, he didn't plan to use it today – since his last fight showed that he relied on it way too much.

Kakashi always trained alone, even though he had one of the best shinobi in the village as his master and the most eager and hard-working candidate for a sparring partner – although the day when Gai's dream to spar with Kakashi came true had yet to come. But, despite that, Kakashi always believed that training on his own was more fruitful as opposed to the training with others. If not for this lonesome training sessions, Kakashi would never create his unique technique – Chidori. He would follow someone's advices and footsteps and would never dare to explore beyond that. As for learning new techniques, Kakashi had his – or rather Obito's – Sharingan, and it already provided Kakashi with a handful of various techniques. Although he had to admit that he rarely met something as good and effective as his own creation – so he was going to develop it into something more.

The most important aspect of Chidori was chakra control – although it had no Shape Manipulation involved in its use, it was a mass of lightning chakra compressed to such an extent that its fast vibrations and super-heated temperature would cut through anything. Kakashi had seen what his technique does to all kinds of materials – human flesh included – and he was completely sure that no blade would manage such a devastating cut. However, he kept on experimenting with the technique, curious as to what would happen if he added a Shape Manipulation to the technique. So far, nothing of what he had tried had improved that hitting power of Chidori. However, there was one shape that he had observed – and copied, thanks to Sharingan – that seemed to achieve a high destruction rate with pure chakra only. In combination with his Chidori it would do wonders. But copying was one thing, and recreating it was another, as it required a lot of determination and concentration to perfect a shape so volatile. If only he could…

"Heh, you do look a lot like your father" – Kakashi suddenly heard man's voice behind him.

As he turned around, he saw and man who seemed to be in his late forties. His hair was still dark, although there already was a graying on his temples, and tied into a ponytail. The man wore a dark blue sleeveless kimono with a mesh shirt underneath, and a pair of matching pants.

Kakashi just looked at him evenly: "Who are you?"

"Ah, sorry" – the man smiled – "It was rude of me not to introduce myself. My name is Kosuke Maruboshi. And you are Kakashi Hatake, son of the White Fang. I knew your father" – the man said gently, fond of old memories. "You do look a lot like him."

Kakashi watched the man for a second more, then turned around: "I'm often told that. Sorry, but I'm busy right now." With that Kakashi crouched intending to leap away from the old man.

"Ah, training, I see? That's always a good thing. However, if you are training, then where is your father's sword, the White Fang?" – he heard the old man say.

The mention of his father's sword stopped Kakashi: he didn't expect the old man to bring the sword up. Ironically, when Kosuke mentioned his father, Kakashi didn't react, since he didn't want to bring up the fact that his father had been dead for many years. However, it was different with the sword, as it was his father's legacy and was supposed to be passed down to Kakashi's children. His father was dead and there was nothing he could about that, but it was his fault that he had lost the sword.

"Ah, I see" – the old man said, seeing that Kakashi had no response. "Well, things like that happen. But, since you did possess it, maybe you would train with me in the art of swordsmanship?"

Kakashi froze: that man was annoyingly persistent. So, in order to finish the conversation as soon as possible, he went with the most obvious answer: "I don't have any sword."

A moment later he caught a sheathed sword that was flying towards his head. "Now you do" – the old man smiled, pulling out the second one and taking a stance.

Kakashi, however, remained unimpressed: "Sorry, but the answer is still 'no'."

"Why wouldn't you? You could teach me a thing or two: you are already a jonin, after all" – Kosuke pleaded with a mocking sadness on his face.

"I don't think there's anything I could teach you that you don't know, old man" – Kakashi responded somewhat irritably.

"Old man? I'm still a genin, you know. A fine jonin like you could teach a thing or two to me" – Kosuke said, still smiling.

Kakashi was really irritated. That old man couldn't be a genin at such an age, shinobis either got promoted to chunin or died before that had their chance. Was that old man mocking him because of his young age? There had been a few instances in the past where something like that happened, but Kakashi always immediately proved that he was skilled enough to get his rank. So, unsheathing his sword, he silently turned to Kosuke, intending to make him regret his decision.

"Ah, that's the look I like to see. But, aren't you going to lift your eye-patch?" – the old man asked.

Kakashi's eye narrowed: "If you are truly still a genin than I won't need it."

"Ah, I see. But, young Kakashi, make no mistake" – the man said as he started waving his sword – "I may be the oldest genin ever, but I was training under the tutelage of the Second Hokage…" – Kakashi suddenly noticed that he was seeing more than one sword waving in front of him – "…And I fought alongside your father…" – Kakashi was now seeing a row of swords waving, their movements resembling a willow tree, blowing in the wind.

"_Genjutsu? And he wasn't even using any hand signs, only his sword! This man is dangerous!" _– Kakashi belatedly realized, reaching with his right arm towards his forehead protector, intending to lift it so that he could use Sharingan. But, as he grabbed his improvised eye-patch, he suddenly felt a sword touching his forearm: the old man, protected by genjutsu, moved so fast that Kakashi didn't even see him until he was in close proximity.

"Your underestimating me just got you killed" – the old man smiled, lowering his sword.

"_S-so strong"_ – Kakashi thought, thinking how would it end if something like that happened in a real fight. "Ready for a round two?" – he suddenly heard.

Looking at the old man, he saw that Kosuke was already in a classic kendo stance, waiting for Kakashi to join him. Kakashi didn't make him wait this time: genin or not, this old man was strong, and, unlike anyone else, he knew kenjutsu. So Kakashi lifted his eye-patch, revealing his Sharingan, and crossed his sword with Kosuke.

_Ah, yes, it's just like the old times. Now, let's see if you're as good as your father, Kakashi" _– Kosuke thought, making his first move.

* * *

A\N

If I could attach images to my fanfics, I would add the one with Hideo Kojima where he asks: "Did you rike it?"

Thanks to everyone who bore and endured with me while I was writing that diploma. It was tough knowing that you guys want an update. And now that we are talking about my fanfic, I have to ask those of you who read manga: the last chapter has revealed a little bit more background of Rin's death, and it appears that it wasn't that much of a coincidence that Obito witnessed her death. So I wonder: is my fanfic still canon? I was thinking that Obito's descend to the darkness was just Madara's luck, but that was his plan all along. Tell me what you think: should I change the first chapter a little bit, or it's good as it is?

Also, I've written another story, this time it's about Naruto, or rather, about Kurama, and I intend to make it as dark as possible. The name of the story, "The Caged Fighter", should give you a hint what the story is about. Check it out!

ALSO, it concerns me that some of you guys asked me to stop using the 1st POV. I don't have any clue what gave you the idea that I'm using it, but I'm not and I don't intend to. 1st POV isn't suitable for fanfictions, as they are tales and legends that are told by someone else other than the main hero.

A-L-S-O, still not a native speaker, still don't have any betas.

With that said, I leave you until next time. Please, follow, favorite, and, above all else – review. Seriously, reviews are the most enjoyable thing for a writer, since they are not just some numbers, they are your thoughts and opinions.

Scandalist, sighing off.


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